Interview with Flatpage’s New Acquisitions Editor

Flatpage launched our nonfiction publishing program earlier this year with our inaugural publication of The Art of Academic Editing. Now we are thrilled to welcome our new acquisitions editor, Eli Bortz, who comes to Flatpage with twenty years of publishing experience and will be growing our nonfiction publishing program in the areas of current affairs, arts and culture, and more.

Read our Q&A with Eli below to find out more about his background and what he’s looking to publish at Flatpage. Think your idea is a good fit? Send your proposal to Eli at eli@flatpage.com.

What is your publishing background?

I started as an editorial assistant in the acquisitions department at the University Press of Florida, eventually rising to full acquiring editor in social sciences. Vanderbilt University Press offered me the opportunity to help build a Latin American studies and history list, and I’m pleased to say it’s now an award-winning program in the discipline. I was at Vanderbilt until Notre Dame Press offered the same opportunity. I was with Notre Dame until 2022, departing after a nearly five-year run as editor in chief. After taking a breather and working independently as an editor and consultant, I took on the role of acquisitions editor here at Flatpage.

What types of books have you published in the past?

Most of my career has been devoted to scholarly publishing and nonfiction. With only a few exceptions, I’ve published primarily in US and Latin American history, archaeology, politics, and ideology. Some of these titles were extremely specialized, selling only several hundred copies. Those were the manuscripts that justified university presses, as they are by definition publishers of rigorous scholarship that may not necessarily appeal to a general audience. And because university presses have no choice but to publish more accessible work to subsidize the scholarship, I’ve always curated a list in contemporary political concerns and long-form journalism. At the same time, we subject these general audience books to rigorous development.

What are you looking to acquire at Flatpage?

Contemporary issues and current events are the target. Since we’re not a university press, we don’t have to fulfill the role of tenure-necessary monograph publishing, but I am working with authors who know that world well. We’ll be publishing books by experienced writers and scholars taking a well-crafted look at modern politics, social issues, and culture. It’s not necessarily a publisher for first-time authors, but there’s no hard and fast rule on that front. Flatpage’s authors will likely have published elsewhere, such as a university press, but they may have been less than satisfied with the results and want more control over the process with their next project.

In terms of comparable presses, I look to legendary imprints like Hachette’s Twelve or Nation Books, or Verso. We’re seeking stories that dig deeper than even long-form journalism, and good evidence or data to back up the claims. Journalists, public intellectuals, artists, and professors will have a home here. Subjects under consideration range from political extremism and gun violence to contemporary art that’s relevant to our current time.

What does Flatpage publishing offer that’s different from a university press?

Fewer bureaucratic hurdles, to start. Peer review is essential for developing scholars, but university presses are laboring under expectations of success most recently defined by 1950s higher education standards. At Flatpage, the review process will be closer to that of a New York publishing house—we enlist experts, but there will be no several months’ wait for an editorial board verdict before proceeding.

Flatpage also offers an in-house editorial team, most of whom are former academics and published writers themselves, who can help authors develop and perfect their manuscripts. In other words, we don’t outsource.

Lastly, we’re not burdened by the sheer volume of book production required to make ends meet in the university press world. By deliberately starting small, we can make the book even better.

What are your tips for nonfiction writers submitting a proposal?

Keep it short and sweet. When I read your proposal, I want to find myself captivated by a clever introduction to your topic (either a powerful anecdote from the manuscript or something that makes the case for your book self-evident). I should be able to envision nearly the entire book from summaries of your chapters to come. And please, read everything carefully so it can withstand scrutiny from a technical and narrative perspective.

What do you like to read in your spare time?

I probably read far too much nonfiction and history, which would be a natural hazard of the job. For example, right now I’m reading a book on the NASA Voyager missions and another on owl habits. I always vow to make more room for fiction books in my life, but sadly they’re few and far between. Queer by William S. Burroughs and Dignity by Ken Layne are excellent short novels I find myself returning to time and again.
A friend once told me acquiring editors tend to read less as their careers take over all their reading time, but I find myself sustaining a steady stack by the bed. And this year I finally tackled Richard Rhodes’s Making of the Atomic Bomb. Rhodes could explain relativity theory to me, a liberal arts graduate. But my favorite academic book is probably Oceans of Wine by David Hancock, because it’s an economic history of Madeira wine and it’s as comprehensive a study of one commodity as you could ever ask for.

Can you tell us a little bit about your academic background?

I was born and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and attended undergrad at a small liberal arts college in Florida. I did my MA at the University of Florida in mass communication and journalism history, and wrote my thesis on Hunter Thompson and the relationships between freelance writers and alternative press editors.